The Loose Association of Wargamers

Didn't real Austrian grenadiers actually have flags?

There's no evidence that they did, mate. Unlike the Prussians the Austro-Hungarians (and many other armies) created ad hoc grenadier battalions as required, by taking grenadier companies from line battalions as required- which you probably already knew. No contemporary artwork or accounts I know of show or mention them having colours, not that that is conclusive evidence. As far as I know they weren't forbidden to carry colours, as were the Prussians before 1807, so they may have done so.

For my little white metal representations, though, I get to decide what they carry.

My troops sent me a legal notice informing me that all line and grenadier units must carry flags or they would not fight for me on the wargame table ,



Willz.

Remind them of that the first time a battalion routs or fails to take an objective, Willz.

All units need flags!

Spanner wrote: ↑Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:59 pm Remind them of that the first time a battalion routs or fails to take an objective, Willz.

I tried that once and they said as all unit are unionised, "one out all out"
So be nice to us or we won't fight, what's a general to do?


Willz.

Decimation? But Austrian Grenadiers are hard as nails... Flags? We don't need no steenkin' flags

Lovely stuff!

Vexillia, Ancient Roman Goddess of Inappropriately-Carried Flags is best pleased with your offering.

Spanner wrote: ↑Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:01 pm

Didn't real Austrian grenadiers actually have flags?

There's no evidence that they did, mate.

I'm thinking Napoleonic era rather than SYW, but I was sure that during one of their re-organisational binges, the Austrians gave their grenadiers one of the spare flags created by re-naming the fusilier battalions. Might have been 1805-ish - just as they were marching off to war someone said "Hang on, guys, I've just had a great idea!"

BaronVonWreckedoften wrote: ↑Sat Jul 16, 2022 11:07 pm

Spanner wrote: ↑Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:01 pm

Didn't real Austrian grenadiers actually have flags?

There's no evidence that they did, mate.

I'm thinking Napoleonic era rather than SYW, but I was sure that during one of their re-organisational binges, the Austrians gave their grenadiers one of the spare flags created by re-naming the fusilier battalions. Might have been 1805-ish - just as they were marching off to war someone said "Hang on, guys, I've just had a great idea!"

Yes, with the Mack Reforms. The Grenadiers were absorbed into each regiment's 'Leib' Battalion and therefore carried the white Leibfahne (the only time they ever carried the Leibfahne). The Mack Reforms were binned after Austerlitz and the grenadiers were split off again and 'may' have carried a spare (yellow) Ordinarfahne. Soon afterward the number of flags per battalion was reduced to one and then they definitely carried a spare Ordinarfahne (as did various Landwehr and volunteer units).